The surge in popularity of the internet has spawned numerous internet access providers. These internet access providers, such as American Online(trademark) or ATT(trademark), provide users with access to e-mail. E-mail may be sent and received from other users on the internet.
E-mail addresses have become popular of both business and personal use. Often recipients will have more than one e-mail address, sometimes with different internet access providers. Virtually every student or business person requires an e-mail address as it is becoming a common mode of communication.
Numerous factors have limited the growth and general usability of e-mail. First, e-mail account information often changes. Whether a user is a student in high school or in college with limited access to the internet, a business person or any other e-mail user, chances are that their e-mail address have changed at some point in time, in conjunction with a graduation from school, changed jobs, etc.
Another aggravating factor is that the life span of the average computer is growing shorter. Many new computers come preinstalled with internet access software. Users often find it difficult to install new software and end up changing their e-mail account. Disconnecting one e-mail account and starting a new one has the unfortunate, and previously unavoidable, consequence of shutting down the old e-mail address and never receiving any e-mail sent to it after it is discontinued.
In addition, new technologies, such as digital phones and pagers, that have the ability to receive text messages, are not capable of being connected to existing internet e-mail accounts.
The present invention solves these and other problems by providing a universal e-mail system that is operable with all types of e-mail software and access service providers. A method and apparatus is disclosed that gives every subscriber a single e-mail address that is linked to other e-mail accounts or services. The present invention is not primarily directed to reading e-mail, rather the focus of the present invention is on the bouncing of e-mail to pre-determined user identified accounts. If a user switches internet providers, from Erols(trademark) to American Online(trademark) for example, there is no need to change the user""s bounce e-mail address. In this case, the user simply changes the destination of their bounced e-mail messages. Messages received by the bounce account simply get re-routed to the new e-mail account.
The present invention solves these problems through the use of an e-mail and internet web site, called DotBounce(trademark). The bounce system is not an internet provider, rather it is an internet bouncer; a key chain (routing hub) for the digital community. The bounce system establishes user accounts that automatically forward the user""s e-mail to the user""s e-mail pre-selected forwarding address(es). Each user creates a forwarding directory, which may comprise multiple e-mail accounts, that the user activates and deactivates as needed. The result is that a sender who sends e-mail to the bounce system knows only the recipient""s identity and not his ultimate e-mail address(es). If the user changes his e-mail address, his messages are forwarded to his new account. If the user goes on vacation, their e-mail can be forwarded to an associate or to a home account. The bounce system permits internet e-mail interoperability. All user""s can have one e-mail account that serves as a routing hub. They never have to change business cards or miss an e-mail because of a closed account. Internet service providers can come and go, e-mail software can be changed, but the bounce system ensures that e-mail will continue to find its intended recipient.
The bounce system""s core routing function can be complemented with vertical services. Filters can be used to sort incoming e-mail; different filters may be applied to different e-mail accounts (e.g. a user may wish to receive a more limited range of e-mail on his cellular phone e-mail account than to his work-related e-mail account). Storage services can be offered to keep records of both incoming and outgoing e-mails. Additional vertical services may include e-mail encryption, return receipt applications, etc.
Users will offer their primary account (their bounce address) as their outside e-mail address. At the bounce hub, users can designate and update existing routing instructions to one or more secondary accounts (pre-selected forwarding accounts). Such routing instructions may include temporary routing instructions (e.g. to an in-flight e-mail address etc.). Automated tie-ins with providers of peripheral e-mail services (e.g. in-flight e-mail) will simplify the routing instructions that users must provide (e.g. merely a flight number for in-flight e-mail etc.).
Where a User sends an e-mail from a secondary account (e.g. corporate intranet account etc), the possibility exists that the recipient will respond utilizing the xe2x80x9creplyxe2x80x9d command. To ensure that such xe2x80x9crepliesxe2x80x9d are routed through the bounce system, users may address outgoing e-mail to a special forwarding address and embed the ultimate address in a non-address portion of the e-mail (e.g. the re: line, to line, from line, cc line, bcc line etc.). Upon receipt of the e-mail the bounce system (i) identifies and strips the embedded address from the e-mail and (ii) identifies the primary account of the user. The bounce system then forwards the e-mail content to the ultimate addressee, in the form of an e-mail from the user""s primary account. If the recipient chooses to xe2x80x9creplyxe2x80x9d to this e-mail, such response will be routed through the bounce system.
The bounce systems central routing function can be complemented with the addition of numerous vertical services. It is expressly contemplated that forwarding addresses can be corporate accounts in hotels or on planes. In addition, the bounce system can strip predetermined information out of one or more e-mails, compile that information if requested to, and forward the information to a non-internet account, such as a pager, digital phone, cellular phone, satellite phone, pager, fax, voice-mail, or the like.
E-mail routed through the bounce system may be sent through e-mail filters. Users may select different filters for different secondary accounts. For example, a user may wish to receive only a highly-selective percentage of e-mails to his cellular phone. A user with an Iridium(trademark) phone may wish xe2x80x9cfromxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cre:xe2x80x9d line information be forwarded to his phone as a page and full text e-mail be held temporary for forwarding as a text message if the user wants to read the message.
Storage services may be provided to users wishing to maintain a record of incoming and outgoing e-mails.
In addition to designated conventional e-mail addresses, the bounce system provides optional tie-in""s to new e-mail services which do not have fixed addresses for each new user. For example, a user who is a frequent flier on a particular airline may wish to receive airborne e-mails care of the airborne e-mail service provider. Such airborne e-mail service provider notifies the bounce system of the presence of a particular User and inform the bounce system of the applicable routing address and duration of the validity of such routing address. Unopened e-mails at such location are automatically deleted at the conclusion of the User""s presence. Similar tie-ins can be established with hotels. The hotel informs the bounce system that a user has checked in and provides the bounce system with the e-mail address associated with the user""s room. For the duration of the user""s stay, the user""s incoming e-mail is routed to that address (e.g. to an e-mail application accessible form the hotel room""s television, etc.). Unopened e-mails are automatically deleted at the user""s checkout. Similar xe2x80x9cFloatingxe2x80x9d tie-ins can be established in connection with users"" travel on ships, use of rental cars, etc. In connection with the use of such xe2x80x9cFloatingxe2x80x9d secondary accounts, the bounce system can offer an incoming e-mail memory cache to maximize users"" ability to review incoming e-mail while in transit. For example, a user traveling from LA to NY on the red-eye flight may be out e-mail of contact from the time he leaves his office in LA until his arrival in his hotel room in New York. Such user could instruct the bounce system to store his e-mails arriving after 5:00 (LA time) and deliver such stored e-mails to such user""s New York hotel room following his 8:00 am (NY time) check-in the following morning.